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Latest Child Rape Victim In India, Recovering In The Hospital; A Ferry Capsizes In Tanzania, Nearly 100 Killed; Accuser Of Kavanaugh Will Testify; China Threatens U.S. On Newly Imposed Sanctions; World Headlines; Salzburg Summit Fallout; China Blocks Twitch; Airport Security Breach. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired September 21, 2018 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00] KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to "News Stream."
Searching for justice, the mother of a 7-year-old rape victim in India tells CNN her attacker should be hanged.
Supreme showdown. U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's accuser says she will testify if the conditions are right.
And running into the great fire wall. Popular video streaming service Twitch gets blocked in China.
And we begin with the story of a little girl, a little girl who, despite going through something many people can't even bring themselves to imagine
is showing a courage that is astonishing those around her. We do not know her name. We haven't seen her face. But the details we do have are forcing
a nation to confront an ugly truth because this girl, despite what her attacker may have wanted her to think, is not alone in her story.
And that is the story we feel is important to focus on, even though it is upsetting to listen to. This girl, only 7-years-old, was raped in a park in
India with a water hose. She was left badly bleed ing. Her mother says the attacker handed the girl some change and a piece of chocolate to keep her
quiet. And incredibly, doctors say she is recovering, telling her mom they have never seen, "a girl with so much strength."
Anna Coren is in New Delhi. She joins us now and Anna, you spoke to the mother of the 7-year-od rape victim and she gave you a direct and brutal
account of what happened and the kind of justice she is seeking.
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, this is a mother who wants the death penalty for the man who brutally attacked her little girl earlier
this week. She is angry and understandably so. As you say, a 21-year-old man. He has been arrested. He is yet to be charged, but he is in police
custody. We are expecting developments in the coming days in relation to that.
But this is a mother who wanted to speak to us at CNN because she wants her daughter's story to be heard. She wants this heinous crime, Kristie, to no
longer happen to India's children.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COREN (voice-over): After three days by her daughter's hospital bedside, this 26-year-old mother returned to her home in this poor neighborhood in
New Delhi to bathe and change her clothes. She walks past the rubbish and stray dogs as she has done every day of her life. But this time, her heart
is heavy, filled with sorrow for her 7-year-old child who has suffered what too many girls in India have already endured.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): Never in my life had I thought this would happen to me or my child, but what can you do? Our fate turned
on us.
COREN: On Monday night, her daughter was rushed to this hospital bleeding profusely after being brutally raped. Her mother says she had been at a
temple playing with friends when a man who collects the rubbish in their neighborhood took her to a park.
She told police he jumped on her tiny body, tied a hose around her neck to stop her from screaming while he raped her, and then inserted the hose
inside her. A 21-year-old man has been arrested and is now in police custody.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): When I saw the blood coming out of her, there was no strength left in my body. I thought she was going to
die. The girl underwent emergency surgery and is recovering in hospital. But it's a case that has clearly shocked the doctors now caring for her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is still malnourished and she's crying. She's clearly traumatized and it's a terrible thing. It's something that we can't
sleep when we see such things. It's difficult for even us.
COREN: This is the latest in a string of brutal rape attacks on young girls and women in India where according to the National Crime Records
Bureau, more than 100 rapes occur on average every day. And while the government has toughened laws against rape and has just set up a national
registry of sex offenders, one prominent minister believes sexual violence is a social problem and a real challenge for the country.
KIREN RIJIJU, MINISTER OF STATE: It's shameful for a whole society. It's not a question of how many incidents. More incidents mean more shameful.
But I'm saying even one incident of the brutal case of rape is a shameful for all of us.
COREN: Just last month, India finally passed a law introducing the death penalty for rape of a girl under the age of 12.
[08:05:06] And while human rights groups say this is not the solution, the mother of the 7-year-old girl believes this is the only way her daughter
will get justice.
[UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): He should be hanged. Life imprisonment is too small a punishment. It's nothing compared to what he
has done. He should definitely be hanged.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Now, Kristie, the minister that we spoke to, he's very close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He says the government here in India is
taking sexual violence seriously. Obviously, they have introduced the death penalty. They have increased sentences. They have brought in these fast
track courts to deal with rape cases.
But as we have spoken about, there is some 6 million rape cases pending before these courts. So these women, these girls getting justice, it is a
very, very long road. This country is facing an enormous challenge, Kristie.
LU STOUT: There's a long road ahead for justice and also for healing. You know, this little girl, this 7-year-old, she is thankfully no longer in
critical condition, but she remains in hospital and she will struggle for years to come with the trauma of what she experienced. So what are the
options for her in terms of counseling, rehabilitation, and support?
COREN: Yes, as we've heard from rape victims, the trauma lasts a lifetime. And this little girl, Kristie, she's only seven and yet, from what we've
hear from her mother, from the doctor who treated her, she is so much smaller. She is tiny. She's malnourished. She comes from a very poor
family.
Her mother is an electronic rig shore driver. She earns just $5 a day supporting three children. We've walk, into her home. It is two meters by
three meters. They don't even have any running water. They all sleep in the same bed.
So, the options for this had little girl, other than the treatment that she is receiving in this hospital, is so very limited. The hospital that she
was at, 10,000 patients a day go to this hospital. There are only 1,500 beds.
They have the resources that people are dealing with here and this little girl, she is going to have to rely on her family, her support network, and
yet, Kristie, she doesn't even go to school. So, this is a scar that is sadly, tragically, going to stay with her. But as we know it, Kristie, this
is something that so many little girls and women here in India have to live with.
LU STOUT: And this little girl already has shown so much strength that she needs far more support in the years ahead. Anna Coren, we thank you for
your reporting. Anna, joining us live from New Delhi. Now, this attack is bringing back horrendous memories for people in India where high profile
rape case had made headlines with disturbing frequency over the past few years. CNN's Phillip Black has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIP BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The shocking attack in Delhi is one of the strings of incidents that have shaken India. Taken
together, they have amplified the clamor to tougher and faster punishment.
In 2012, six men attacked a 23-year-old woman on a bus she was taking with her male companion. They took turns raping her while also beating her with
an iron rod. She later died of her injuries. In January, the body of an 8- year-old Muslim girl was found after she had been gang raped and strangled.
Three police officers and a former government official were among the eight Hindu men arrested. And then in May, police announced they had arrested a
primary suspect in the gang rape and killing of a 16-year-old girl in the northeast of the country. The arrested man was one of 20 accused in the
attack.
Days later, a man in the same state raped a 17-year-old in her relative's home before setting her on fire. Questions are now growing for Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's government about why they cannot protect women and children from these appalling attacks. Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And as Anna reported earlier, India is launching a national register of sex offenders to help address this crisis. One hundred rapes
are reported in India every day. In 2016, the total was 39,000 roughly equal to one rape every thirteen and a half minutes.
And according to court records, the number of sexual assault related cases awaiting a trial date in 2016 totaled over 15,000 with the courts resolving
just 1,300 or less than 10 percent. Under a new law ratified by the Indian parliament in August, the death penalty is the maximum sentencing in the
case of rape of a girl under the age of 12.
[08:10:03] Now the law does not include boys. India has also increased punishments for the rape of girls under 16. And investigations into all
rapes must be done within two months, not three as it was previously. There are many numbers and statistics out there and plenty of conjecture to go
along with them, but right now, let's focus on just one question.
Why is this happening? From New Delhi, let's speak to lawyer and human right activist Vrinda Rover. Vrinda, as you know as you've been reporting,
CNN has spoken to the mother of the 7-year-old rape victim. And she says she wants the attacker to die, to be hanged.
We know that this year, India introduced a law that makes raping girls under 12 punishable by death, but is this the answer to protect girls in
India? Is the death penalty effective?
VRINDA GROVER, LAWYER & HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: The death penalty is not an effective deterrent to any crime including rape. Of course, the mother of
the child will be so angry and so anguished that she would want to inflict harm on the person.
I think what we need to understand here is that repeatedly the measures and the steps taken by the state are in no way enhancing either protection or
safety or rehabilitative or restorative justice for the victim.
What it is doing is only giving more powers to the state whether it is the death penalty or it is the new registry that they are now launching. None
of this actually going to co-create either deterrents or respect for the law or fear of the law nor will it be preventive.
Let's take the illustration that we are talking about when this is obviously a rape in working class who are home. There are many, many
working class parents who are going to go out to work. Where are those children going to stay? What is state providing simple things like a
(inaudible), daycare.
Is any such arrangement being made by the state? We are not concentrating on the substantive systemic changes that we need to diminish this violence.
On the other hand, only the spectacle of the death penalty is handed out and we know that that will not stop anything at all. They've already been
death sentences awarded.
There are fast track courts which are conducting trials in five or seven days which to my mind is ridiculous, absolutely. A lot of what is said on
paper in terms of the legal system where which I work with and engage with, the investigation remains inaccessible. The legal system remains harsh and
insensitive. The actual process of evidence gathering is very, very dismal and unprofessional.
We are not going to be able to move ahead because we are constantly being distracted by wrong remedies being provided by the state. I also want to
underline that please understand rape is one of the forms of violence against women. We are in a society which is very, very unequal in which
misogyny from the highest political, social, religious leaders is daily propagated.
We cannot turn this around only through the mechanism of law. The other instruments and mechanisms of the society from education to public policy
to social leadership is totally missing. This is a society which continues to believe in discrimination and inequality.
LU STOUT: You say that social support is needed especially in economically depressed communities. You say that the death penalty is not a deterrent.
It's not going to work. Fast track courts, that's not the answer, either. So why is this happening? And what is the solution when you have a rape
every thirteen and a half minutes in India and this is happening in the cities, in the countryside, you know, across the socioeconomic spectrum.
Why is this happening and what can be done about it?
GROVER: As I said, there are multiple reasons why violence against women takes place. And, to put it very broadly, it is an exercise of power. It is
an exercise where some inner society where there is subordination of women, women are unequal to men. They continue to be socially and religion,
cultural practices keeps women in subordinate positions.
Discrimination is inherent in our religious, cultural, social practices, in our way of life. Therefore, you are not going to be able to rid of violence
until and unless we address inequality. Where are we addressing inequality?
[08:15:04] Also, you do have a society which is obviously like many other places in a lot of economic turmoil. And there is change taking place from
rural distress to people travelling in urban areas. Social economic disfunctionality is taking place. The system and the state is not putting
any processes and mechanisms in place.
As I mentioned and I will keep on harping on it, what is the difficulty in the state and how much state resources are required to put in place daycare
centers, (inaudible) for all working class parents' children. Why does the Indian state not commit to this demand? Why is it that they are willing to
invest in CCTV cameras but not provide safe spaces for children?
LU STOUT: A call to invest in social support, Vrinda, thank you so much for joining us --
GROVER: We are shying away -- we are shying away from systemic answers.
LU STOUT: Vrinda Rover, a human rights activist and lawyer, joining us from New Delhi. Thank you very much indeed for joining us here on the
program.
Now, turning to Tanzania and we have to get to this next story next. My apologies for the transition, but there's been a ferry tragedy which we
have been monitoring. Rescue workers there racing to find at the moment hundreds of missing passengers after a ferry capsized there.
The Tanzania Red Cross Society is now reporting 94 people died when this ferry sank on Thursday between two islands in Lake Victoria. That's
Africa's largest lake. Local media say that the ferry was overloaded and may have been carrying up to 500 people. For the very latest, CNN's Farai
Sevenzo joins me now live from Nairobi. And Faria, rescue workers still don't know precisely how many people were on board that boat and the death
toll continues to rise.
FARAI SEVENZO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Kristie. It is one of the tragic stories that are actually quite repeated in Tanzania. As you say,
Lake Victoria is Africa's largest fresh body of water. Its shoreline is about 3,400 odd (ph) kilometers. It is bordering on Tanzania, Uganda, and
Kenya and it is the most used water thoroughfare in this region.
Now, what happened yesterday afternoon is that traders were coming from Bugolora to Ukara Island where they had been in -- in Bugolora there had
been an auction. It was market day. So they all waited on the boat to get to the other side of the island. And of course, we don't know exactly how
many people there are or there were on that boat, but we know that it was overloaded.
It has only got a 25 ton capacity, licensed only to carry only a hundred people and it had lorries full of cereal. It had traders goods and so it
was just a disaster waiting to happen, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Farai Sevenzo, reporting live from Nairobi. Thank you.
You're watching "News Stream." And still to come right here on the program, China is hitting out against new U.S. sanctions on its military with a
warning for Washington.
And the woman who says a U.S. Supreme court nominee sexually assaulted her in high school, now seems willing to tell her story to U.S. senators.
[08:20:] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back. Now, a few days ago, the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, it looked like a slam dunk. Now, an
allegation of sexual assault from 36 years ago threatens to derail it. Kavanaugh denies the allegation, but now his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford
says she is willing to testify before a Senate committee next week under certain conditions.
For his part, Mr. Trump publicly praised Kavanaugh yet again at a rally in Las Vegas on Thursday. Let's get up to speed now with our White House
correspondent Abby Phillip. She joins me live from Washington. Abby, Kavanaugh's accuser is now open to testifying, but the question is, when?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kristie. Well the talks have re-opened between Kavanaugh's attorneys and the Senate Judiciary
Committee. They had a call yesterday to iron out some of the conditions that she would need in order to testify. And that call went fairly well.
Kavanaugh's accuser's attorneys has said that they aren't drawing many red lines except that they don't believe she will be willing to testify on
Monday, but they do want the conditions to be fair to Ford.
(BGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIP (voice-over): A lawyer for Judge Brett Kavanaugh's accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that she is
open to testifying next week, even if the FBI does not investigate, provided that the senators offer terms that are fair and which ensure her
safety.
But Ford's attorney stressing that the scheduled Monday hearing is not possible, proposing Thursday instead during the conference call with
committee aides. Ford's lawyers also requesting that Judge Kavanaugh testify first and that the committee subpoena other witnesses like Mark
Judge who Ford says was in the room when the alleged assault occurred.
A source telling CNN that both of these issues are non-starters for
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should Mr. Judge testify?
SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R), CHAIRMAN, SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: At this point, we have two people testifying.
PHILLIP: Ford's lawyer also insisting that Kavanaugh is never in the same room as Ford and voicing opposition to an outside lawyer questioning her,
rather than the senators themselves. A source tells CNN that the committee's all-male Republican majority is looking into having a female
lawyer question Ford.
A spokesman for Chairman Chuck Grassley telling CNN that he plans to consult with his colleagues and remain committed to providing a fair forum.
The White House releasing a letter from Kavanaugh in which he insists I will be there. Kavanaugh denies Ford's accusations. Meanwhile, President
Trump forcefully defending his Supreme Court nominee at a campaign rally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENBT OF THE UNITED STATES: Brett Kavanaugh is one of the finest human beings you will ever have the privilege of knowing or
meeting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PJILLIP: And after avoiding criticizing Ford, the president launching his first direct attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: To see what's going on is just very, very sad. You say why didn't somebody call the FBI 36 years ago to take a man like this and besmirch?
Now with that being said, let her have her say and let's see how it all works out. But I don't think you can delay it any longer. They've delayed
it a week already.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: Counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway also hardening her tone against Ford and suggesting it may be a case of mistaken identity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: Is it possible that they're both right? Is it possible that something terrible happened to her?
And that Judge Kavanaugh was not there? That he wasn't involved? Is that possible?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse suggesting an investigation into the allegations will happen if Democrats retake the senate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D), RHODE ISLAND: This is such bad practice that even if they were to ram this guy through, as soon as Democrats get gavels,
we're going to want to get to the bottom of this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIP (on camera): And Ford's lawyer these morning have sent a new letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans outlining some of the
concerns that they mentioned on the call yesterday, but highlighting that they don't believe any of those concerns, except for the Monday testimony
are red lines.
It looks unlikely at this point that we will have a Monday hearing, but there are some open questions about whether it will be as late as Thursday.
I think Republicans still want to get this nomination completed before the beginning of October. Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yes, before that hearing, it's still wait and see mode. Abby Phillip, reporting live from the White House. Thank you.
Now, someone Mr. Trump may be less keen to defend is his former attorney, Michael Cohen. As the Russia probe continues, ABC News says that Cohen has
been interviewed several times by special counsel Robert Mueller and his team in just the last month.
[08:24:58] Cohen's lawyer appeared to confirm the report tweeting, "Good for Michael Cohen in providing critical information to the Mueller
investigation without a cooperation agreement. No one should question his honesty, veracity or loyalty to his family and country over President
Donald Trump."
Now to Beijing and a warning from China to the U.S. Revoke sanctions on our military or bare the consequences. On Friday, China's foreign affairs
ministry said that Washington had, "severely violated the basic norms of international relations." The United States imposed the measures after
China's military bought Russian weapons. Matt Rivers has more on how the countries got here.
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Even though it's portions of the Chinese military getting sanctioned, really this all has to do with Russia. In an
act passed by Congress called the Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act. So, let's take you back to how this all started.
It was last December in January that the Chinese military took delivery from Russia of SU-35 aircraft and S-400 surface-to-air missiles. The
Chinese bought those weapons from Russia. As a result of that purchase, the U.S. says under this act that I just mentioned, they are required under law
to sanction the Chinese military for engaging in what they're calling a significant purchase with Russia.
Basically, what that act was designed to do was punish certain Russians affiliated with the country's intelligence and military services for a
number of different reasons, including the 2016 election meddling that Russia engaged in. So basically this act was passed and it put people on a
black list.
Basically the United States is saying to other countries, if you do business with people on this black list, members and affiliated with
Russia's military intelligence services, then you will be facing sanctions. That's what happened here. China is the first country to have its military
sanctioned as a result of this act being passed.
Now, the act was passed in part because there was concern in the U.S. Congress that President Donald Trump would not act toughly against Russia
or even move to ease sanctions. So Congress passed this act as a result. And so, really, China you could argue is kind of collateral damage in all
of this and you might imagine that China is not too thrilled about this.
So at a ministry of foreign affairs briefing on Friday afternoon in Beijing, a spokesman said that the sanctions have severely violated the
basic norms of international relations and damaged the relations between two countries and two militaries. We strongly urge the U.S. side to correct
the mistakes immediately and revoke the so-called sanctions.
Otherwise, the U.S. has to bear the consequences of it. What those consequences will be, not really sure at this point. But clearly, the
Chinese are unhappy, but the United States is saying, look, our hands are tied here. We are following the law. And China, if you are upset at
anybody, you should be upset at the Russians. Kristie.
LU STOUT: Matt Rivers, thank you. Ahead, on "News Stream," the Salzburg summit ends in disaster for Theresa May with her Brexit plan seemingly in
taters. We'll get the latest reaction from London.
[08:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN NEWS STREAM SHOW HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines.
In Tanzania, rescue workers are racing to find hundreds of missing passengers after a ferry capsized on Thursday. (INAUDIBLE) says 94 people
were killed when the ferry sank between two islands in Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake. Local media say the ferry was overloaded and may
have been carried up to 500 people.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, rescue teams are scrambling to find survivors more than 24 hours after a landslide. At least 50 people are
still missing in Cebu Province. Emergency officials say 25 survivors have already been pulled from the rubble.
The Vietnamese president has died after an illness. Tran Dai Quang was appointed to the ceremonial post in 2016 and oversaw crackdown on dissent
during his time in office. He was 61.
An Australian filmmaker, James Ricketson, will soon be released from a Cambodian jail after receiving a royal pardon. Ricketson was sentenced to
six years in prison last month after being found guilty of espionage. He was arrested last year for flying a drone over a political rally staged by
an opposition party. His lawyer tells CNN prosecutors could not provide concrete evidence of the charge or who Ricketson was accused of spying for.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is set to give a statement on her government's Brexit policy in about 15 minutes. The announcement follows a
stinging rejection of her Brexit plans from European leaders. She was hoping that this week's summit in Austria would break the stalemate in
negotiations, but the proposals that Ms. May brought with her, known as the Chequers plan, got a firm thumbs down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TUSK, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COUNCIL: Everybody shared the view that while there are positive elements in the Chequers proposal, the suggested
framework for economic cooperation will not work, not least because it risks undermining the single market.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: With no obvious alternative, Theresa May left with a warning to the E.U.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: There is no counter proposal on the table at the moment that actually deals, delivers on what we need to do and
respects the integrity of the United Kingdom and respects the result of the referendum. That's what we've put forward. If there is no agreement on a
deal that is acceptable to the United Kingdom, then we are preparing for no deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: OK, there is plenty to discuss and dig into with CNN's Erin McLaughlin who joins us now live from London. And Erin, after that bruising
E.U. summit in Salzburg, Prime Minister May, she is brushing off the rejection. She is showing just no sign of backing down from what is known
as her Chequers plan. What is the Chequers plan and can it work?
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Chequers plan is something that Theresa May and her government came up with over the
summer, which would essentially keep the United Kingdom inside the customs union in terms of goods in the event of the future relationship or trade
deal between the E.U. and the U.K.
It's that economic framework portion of the Chequers agreement with the E.U. has rejected. You heard there from Donald Tusk, say that that is not -
- essentially say that that's not an option, saying that essentially amounts to cherry picking.
So the real question now is what happens to Theresa May going forward? What options does she have left? British press have been characterizing what
happened there in Austria as a "humiliation." It's a word splashed across many of the headlines here in the United Kingdom.
So we are expecting some sort of statement from British Prime Minister Theresa May here very shortly in London. It will be very interesting to see
what she has to say.
Plenty of people will be looking for whether or not she continues to stand by this Chequers plan which it must be said is unpopular to Remainers. It's
also unpopular to hard Brexiteers. So it doesn't seem like she has many options left before her to continue in terms of these negotiations.
LU STOUT: Yeah. And she's due to speak shortly by the top of the hour. We'll hear she keeps -- you know, just digging down and just saying this is
the plan that she will put forward, this is it. And it looks like, Erin, that we are at this in pass (ph) now, especially after the latest E.U.
summit.
[08:35:00] Both sides standing their ground. Theresa May, she wants to look up (ph). E.U. leaders, they want strong unity. They don't want to see
weak. Can there be a Brexit when, you know, everyone meets again for a formal summit in October?
MCLAUGHLIN: Right now, senior E.U. sources have been telling me in terms of the withdrawal agreement, it's actually 85 percent of the way -- they
are over 85 percent of the way there, according to one senior E.U. official.
They've resolved any number of issues from what happened to citizens, the financial settlement, but the key sticking point remains what happens to
Northern Ireland. We can expect to see sort of an acceleration in terms of focus going forward ahead of that October E.U. summit.
The real question being can they reach some sort of agreement? Theresa May has put forward this Chequers plan which she's standing by, that she says
will solve the Northern Ireland question by keeping the whole of the U.K. inside the E.U.'s customs union when it comes to goods.
The E.U. now rejecting that, offering to soften the backstop solution that they have put forward some months ago. The language of that backstop
solution. They say they need a backstop solution in order to reach a deal. There's also the matter of the political agreement that is also expected as
part of this overall Brexit agreement.
There's the withdraw agreement and then there's some sort of political statement that is expected out of that. A senior E.U. official telling me
he expects that statement to be extremely vague, which likely will also be unpalatable to hard Brexiteers here in the United Kingdom, as well as
others.
Remember, as part of the Brexit agreement, there is a financial settlement that Downing Street says amounts to 40 billion euros. They're going to want
to see more in terms of that future relationship, that future relationship declaration for that 40 billion euros. So it's a tense negotiation. These
two sides in the remaining sticking points seem to beery far apart.
LU STOUT: Yeah.
MCLAUGHLIN: One senior E.U. official telling me that he expects an 11th hour agreement. He said when it comes to negotiations, the most difficult
nuts to crack, so to speak, will always be cracked right at the end.
LU STOUT: Yeah, a number of sticking points before any sort of agreement can be reached. Erin McLaughlin reporting live for us from London. Erin,
thank you.
Now, it was one of the most popular apps in China. Now, Twitch, Amazon's life streaming service, it's no longer available there. Now, Twitch allows
users to watch and broadcast video game playing.
And esports fans in China gave the service a big boost last month during the Asian games in Indonesia, which showcased competitive video gaming for
the first time. And now Twitch joins a growing list of other foreign platforms banned by the Chinese government.
You're watching "News Stream." And we are waiting for British Prime Minister Theresa May to speak after Thursday's summit in Salzburg where
Brexit was discussed. We'll have more right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: All right, coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. This is "News Stream." We are following a bizarre security breach at an airport
in Florida. Officials say a student pilot is under arrest after he jumped an airport security fence in Melbourne and snuck on to a jet undergoing
maintenance.
[08:40:05] Brian Todd reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the middle of the night, a flight school student sneaks on to a park airliner, leaving his car engine running.
Authorities say he jumps the fence, runs across the tarmac and boards an American Airlines airbus 321 that was parked for maintenance at Melbourne
International Airport in Florida. Maintenance workers said they saw a shadow.
LORI BOOKER, SPOKESWOMAN, ORLANDO MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: A maintenance employee spotted the intruder and immediately notified the
specially trained Melbourne Airport Police Department which was on the scene and was able to arrest the subject within two minutes.
TODD: He twice attempted to enter the flight deck and even after he was caught, he again turned and ran toward the plane. Authorities say the
suspect is Nishal Sankat, 22 years old, from the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, who is studying at a nearby flight school.
Records show he got a commercial pilot license in January. He faces charges of trespassing, burglary, and attempted theft of an aircraft. But no word
on a motive or on what his intention was.
Officials say he has no criminal record, that they found no weapon in his car or his home, and that he is cooperating with law enforcement.
Authorities said systems in place and heroic action prevented something that could have been much worse.
BOOKER: You can rest assure that we believe that in this instance, our security worked just fine.
TODD: Just last month, an unauthorized airport worker took off in a 76- seat turboprop in Seattle, flying erratically for an hour while sporadically talking to controllers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose I guess. Never really knew it until now.
TODD: Fighter jets were scrambled in case he was a security threat. But after an hour, he crashed. Still, the incident raised concerns about
whether park airliners are secure, if one could be so brazenly stolen.
In the Florida case, there is no known link to terrorism as of yet. But security experts say ever since extremists crashed four plane on 9/11, any
attempt to access a plane is concerning.
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: We've seen what can happen with 9/11, of terrorists attending flight school and gaining access to the
cockpit, the damage that can be done. So this incident will be of great concern to U.S. counter-terrorism agencies as they investigate.
TODD: One area they could investigate, the suspect's ties to Trinidad and Tobago.
CRUICKSHANK: Trinidad has been a country in which a significant number of extremists have traveled to Syria, to Iraq to join ISIS from over a
hundred.
TODD: It's not clear now if any added security measures are going to be put in place at the Melbourne International Airport. Officials there say
they're proud of how their security worked in this case. But they also say it's not unusual to have as many as eight jets parked on the tarmac outside
the repair center at any given hour.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: All right, the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, is set to give a statement on her government's Brexit policy in the next couple of
minutes or so. There is plenty to discuss about the issue. We got CNN's Erin McLaughlin standing by along with Max Foster. Both of them join us
from London. Hello to you both. Max, let's start with you. We know that the British prime minister will soon give an address. What is she expected to
say? What will you be looking out for?
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first thing I'm looking out for is whether it will be inside or outside. Some suggestion now is going to be
inside. The podium outside Downing Street is used particularly by Theresa May for big historic moments. The last time she used that when she caught a
snap election.
If she -- if we do see her come outside and to a podium, then it could be more significant than if we get an interview from inside. It could be
delayed as well, as I understand it. But if it's inside, then there's a few options.
She could obviously refer to Chequers, the agreement that she's come up with, that she wants to push through as a Brexit deal. It didn't go down at
all well in Salzburg with European leaders yesterday. It hasn't gone down well with Brexiteers. It hasn't gone down with Remainers. Many people
saying it is simply dead.
So is she going to dump that deal or is she going to dig her heels in and insists that she is going to plow ahead with that, based on what she said
last night in Salzburg which was that there is no other option on the table right now.
No one else is offering another option, so this is it. That might be seen as a challenge to those within her party who want to get rid of her and say
they don't want to support to get rid of her. Brexiteers want to get rid of her, saying they want numbers (ph) to do that.
It could be a challenge thing. OK, if you don't like the Brexit deal, then challenge me for the leadership. All sorts of questions around that. You
know, who would want to take on that role at this point in time? Is it better to keep a leader when we're just six months away from Brexit? So,
that's another option.
And then there is sort of middle option. A lot of people is thinking (ph) this Canada option which is trying to reach a deal with Europe where she
accepts some regulation and some access to the free market.
[08:45:04] The other option is the Norway option where you get a lot of access to the free market and a lot of regulation. Lots of options she
could be considering right now and it does define how Britain goes into any future negotiations with Europe.
The other option, of course, Kristie, is that she, you know, gives up on any negotiations with Europe, so she is not going to carry on with that and
just assume that Britain is going to fall out of the European Union when it comes to march (ph).
LU STOUT: A lot of options on the table. We're waiting for more clarity. When Theresa May gives an address? We don't know if it's happening inside
or outside. Let's go to Erin McLaughlin next. Erin, a lot has been said about this Chequers plan. How deep is the opposition inside the U.K. to
this plan?
MCLAUGHLIN: At this point, not many people here in the U.K. are in favor of Chequers. You have Remainers coming out who want to remain inside the
E.U. saying that it's not a good deal. And you have hard Brexiteers coming out saying it is not a good deal including Boris Johnson, the former
foreign secretary who resigned in the wake of the Chequers plan, that cabinet meeting that happened over the summer.
So, it's seen as incredibly unpopular here in the United Kingdom. Now you have the E.U. using this summit to come out and say that the E.U. doesn't
like the Chequers plan. So the key question here is, where does that leave Theresa May politically?
Where does that leave her Brexit strategy going forward? That of course is the key question. That is why it will be very interesting to see what
Theresa May has to say. That statement is expected, you know, just anytime now.
LU STOUT: Let's take it back to Max Foster. Max, Prime Minister Theresa May has said leaving with no deal remains an option. But is that an option
that the British people would accept?
FOSTER: Well, if it's something that they're going to start moving towards, then the other option is trying to work out some deals around the
immediate concerns, for example, around aviation, helping some of the manufacturers perhaps and importers to make sure the shows don't go empty.
So that would -- I mean, some people are calling it a blind Brexit, which is effectively coming to some sort of deal with Brussels over the things
that could cause a crisis and then kicking the other things into the long grass. But that is not going to satisfy anyone, Remainers or Brexiteers.
But with this time line, perhaps that is an option.
The other thing she could do is what John Major did back in the day, call a vote to confidence in her leadership which will effectively be a vote to
confidence in her plan. As Erin was saying, there is not very much support for it. But then Theresa May says there's not any other options on the
table right now either.
She could resign. I don't think most likely, if she is going to be doing interview indoor instead of outdoor. And some of the other options we have
been considering, you know, she could call a general election which would effectively be a second referendum.
As we've been discussing on my show for the last few days, the second referendum seems really unlikely. If you look at the technical around that,
they (INAUDIBLE) question, they got to get an act through parliament.
Then you go all to logistics that are involved in setting up another referendum which is really complicated. Can you do that within six months?
So she is in a bind and it just says so much about this situation that we're in in the U.K., that we're not able to give you three options about
what it's most likely to be.
LU STOUT: Max, you're talking about the second referendum. I want to get Erin's thoughts on that, because there has been a lot of discussion there
in the U.K., even E.U. leaders at the summit were weighing in on their thoughts on whether there should be a second referendum on Brexit. But is
that point loop by now?
MCLAUGHLIN: I think at this point, sort of all options probably remain on the table. There's so much uncertainty surrounding this present situation.
But I think time is of the essence here as Max was saying. Remember, the clock runs out, so to speak, in March of next year.
This deal is very much seen as need to have been done by November, which is a potential month where they may have some sort of summit to sign off on
everything. The E.U. has said they prefer everything be wrapped up by the October summit because whatever deal they agree upon needs to be ratified
not only here by parliament inside the U.K. but also by the European parliament.
So, time is of the essence. The E.U. leaders do have the option to extend the timetable for Brexit. But that would require unanimous approval of all
27 remaining E.U. member states and remember, there is the matter of parliamentary elections that are coming up in Brussels, European
parliamentary elections in May, and the Eurosceptics vote there is a concern.
[08:50:06] Remember, many of the British MEPs in Brussels are Eurosceptics. According to people I've been speaking to in Brussels, their
calculus is they expect that percentage of Eurosceptic vote to hold in parliament to be about 30 percent. But that number goes up if the United
Kingdom remains inside of the E.U.
So in some respects, it is in the interest of Brussels to see actually Brexit happen in March 2019 from the calculus of those all important
parliamentary elections which will then of course also determine who is the president of the European Commission. So, it doesn't seem likely at this
point that the E.U. would be in the mood to extend that deadline any further, Kristie.
LU STOUT: And let's talk about Theresa May's leadership and take it back to Max Foster as we await Prime Minister Theresa May to make a statement at
10 Downing Street. You know, she has been hammered by E.U. leaders.
She has been hammered by the British press after the Salzburg summit. We know that there's a conservative party congress happening. Are there
already challengers to her leadership lining up?
FOSTER: Well, yeah, Boris Johnson. He's putting himself up and he does have some support but he doesn't have support across the whole of the
parliamentary conservative party. And, indeed, there are many MPs threatening to resign if he went ahead with it.
And then you kind of look at who the other options are and what incredible options we're actually consider going in to Downing Street at the time like
this when it's literally, you know, one of the toughest moments in, you know, British political history that we can remember in recent times.
So it's about the options and the opposition, the labor opposition, isn't very organized right now. The argument there would be, you know, if you get
rid of Theresa May, then you're going to allow Jeremy Corbyn to come into Downing Street or create that option and that is a worse option. That's the
messaging to the MPs (ph) at least.
So, in a way, the weak opposition is her greatest strength at this time. It does increasingly look as though the statement that we're about to get is
going to be very much message, not so much British politicians, but European politicians. Dominic Raab, the British secretary, has been
speaking to the (INAUDIBLE).
The comments from that are we've been rebuffed on our plans without any coherent explanation as to why. That's a reference to what happened in
Salzburg. And he said that the U.K. government was going to hold its nerves, stay calm and keep negotiations in good faith.
So, it does seem as though negotiations are going to carry on. They are going to look ahead to that October summit that Erin was referring to. And
it looks as though, you know, Theresa May is going to come out strong saying that she's not going to be put off by what happened in the face of
European leadership last night.
LU STOUT: And we're looking forward to what is expected to be that showing of strength from Theresa May when she gives that statement. Let's talk more
about that October summit for E.U. leaders with Erin.
And Erin, you know, after that rather sour tone struck in Salzburg and it was a bruising summit for Theresa May, are we going to see a repeat when
E.U. leaders gather again formally in October?
MCLAUGHLIN: Well, the hope is, at least among E.U. leaders, is that they will be able at that October summit to sign off on whatever deal is reached
between the U.K. government and Barnier's team in Brussels. But it will remain to be seen if things stick to that timetable.
If they extend beyond that timetable, Donald Tusk has said that there will be a separate summit scheduled for November. The hope is that in November,
they will be able to sign off on a potential Brexit deal.
It's important to reiterate here the deal that they're talking about is actually two separate things. It's the withdraw agreement which includes
the rights of E.U. citizens, the financial settlement, as well as the Northern Ireland situation.
According to senior E.U. officials, that is the sticking point, is what happens to Northern Ireland. The E.U. wants a backstop solution. That's
what they put on the table. They want the U.K. to agree that Northern Ireland will remain inside the customs union in the event of a Brexit.
That is not palatable to the British government which is why Theresa May has come up with this Chequers plan which would essentially keep the whole
of the United Kingdom inside the customs union when it comes to goods, but not services.
The E.U. has rejected that saying that mounts to cherry picking. So that is where things stand. The second part of the agreement has to do with the
future relationship. So the two sort of weave in together. But there are two very distinct things.
[08:55:00] One is illegally binding withdrawal agreement. The other is some sort of political declaration. Now it's the specificity of that
political declaration that is in question.
Senior E.U. leaders I've been talking to or senior E.U. officials rather I've been talking to tell me that they think it will be a vague statement,
that that is all at this point that they had time for in terms of reaching that, November at the latest deadline.
That might not sit well though with Brexiteers here in the United Kingdom especially considering they are paying some $40 billion in terms of that
Brexit bill for this deal to be done.
LU STOUT: And, Erin, you mentioned E.C. President Donald Tusk and that charge of cherry picking and you remind me of that now infamous Instagram
post that Donald Tusk shared out there, a photo of him and Theresa may. They were looking at cakes with the caption, a piece of cake, right? Sorry,
no cherries.
You know, some people are saying, oh, this is Instagram diplomacy. Others are calling it trolling. Is this indicative of just the harsh tone that she
has been getting from the E.U. leaders especially straight from the top?
MCLAUGHLIN: It's interesting. The tone that came out of the summit this week was surprising to many. Some had expected the E.U. to adapt a much
softer stance towards the Chequers agreement. It as surprising that Donald came out and essentially said the economic parts of that plan simply do not
work.
They were expecting a more conciliatory tone in that respect because the E.U. has long sort of been seen to be in favor of Theresa May remaining as
prime minister, that Theresa May in some ways continues to be able to move forward with her Brexit plans because the alternative, which is a Jeremy
Corbyn prime ministership or say a Boris Johnson prime ministership is seen in the eyes of many E.U. officials.
E.U. sources I've been talking to is less favorable than Theresa may being able to continue on. So it was surprising to many that Donald Tusk did not
adopt a softer tone in Austria and we can continue to see him having a bit of fun there on Twitter as well as Instagram, something that he is known to
have done in the past.
LU STOUT: And here we are as we await a fresh statement from the British prime minister. We are at this impasse, both sides digging in, both sides
are not giving up ground. They want to look tough. Is there going to be a breakthrough? We have Max Foster on the line, as well. Max, is there going
to be a breakthrough in October?
FOSTER: Wow. There hasn't been so far, has there, and we're getting horribly close to the deadline. Symptomatic, perhaps, of the chaos that is
Brexit we're hearing from the BBC which is involved in taping the statement they're expecting from Theresa May, that there is a delay.
But it is technical. It's not a political issue. Apparently there is a power problem within Downing Street. So that tells us two things. That
tells us the statement is within Downing Street. It's not in the street outside. So I don't think we're going to get any sort resignation or big
historic movement here.
It's a up day to some sort of sign or defiance against European leaders. What happened in Salzburg last night is not an option for the U.K. because
there is only one deal on the table and no other options are being presented at this time.
We also understand that by, you know, having statement inside, it lowers expectations to some extent, but this is all about saying that carrying on
with the plan that they have got and until someone offers an alternative, there aren't any other alternatives on the table.
But crucially, at this point, Theresa May isn't going anywhere. She feels she's the right person to lead this one through. A lot of politicians would
probably agree on the basis that there aren't any other credible alternatives at least out there.
END
